Pritzker signs legislation designed to promote economic equity

(The Center Square) – Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation Tuesday that he said will expand economic opportunities for Black and Brown communities in Illinois.

The bills aim to expand access to state contracts for minority-owned businesses, women, and people with disabilities, lower interest rates on payday loans, prevent employers from discriminating against people with criminal records and improve access to public housing.

Pritzker said the death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement last summer set things in motion.

“I think has added new life to the need for real change, systemic change, in what I think has been a racially unfair system not just in Illinois but across the nation,” Pritzker said.

The Employee Background Fairness Act extends protections to any Illinois resident with a criminal record. Under the new law, employers can no longer disqualify a job applicant or employee with a criminal conviction unless it is related to the position applied for.

The Public Housing Access Bill allows an individual with a felony conviction to live in federally assisted housing.

“Since this nation’s inception, there’s been a massive disparity in access to economic opportunity in America. This imbalance affects all aspects of life, especially housing and access to capital,” said Sen. Chris Belt. “If the federal government won’t take the lead, Illinois will.”

Another one of the bills signed by the governor puts a cap on payday loans. The Predatory Loan Prevention Act will prohibit lenders from charging more than 36% APR on consumer loans.

Colonel Paul Kantwill, director of the Office of Legal Policy for the Department of Defense, used a March Madness reference to describe the bill signing.

“We will go from the field of 64 to the Final Four,” Kantwill said. “Illinois will leave the field of 50 and we will move directly to the national championship.”

Steve Brubaker from the Illinois Small Loan Association said the legislation will put people out of business.

“I’m worried about the members of our association, and number two, all their employees that have to try to find a job during COVID which is going to be awful, but also, you are taking a billion dollars away from customers,” Brubaker said.

The Illinois Automobile Dealers Association has also voiced opposition to the bill.

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